Some of you may have seen this photo on my Instagram account (@vickyheiler) on Sunday, where I told you that we’d be making our first turkey feast. Well, now I can proudly show you a few snapshots! We may still need a bit of practice (the skin ripped as we were turning it on the BBQ & we forgot to tie down the legs, causing the birdy to do the splits while cooking), but we had so much fun & it actually tasted amazing. We were a group of 6 people, 2 really close friends + my brother and his lovely girlfriend. It was perfect for a small gathering, there weren’t too many people in the kitchen and we had a great time cooking together. Everyone was in charge of different things and by the time we sat down for dinner it was definitely well deserved after about 5 hours in the kitchen. Here is what we made: BBQ smoked turkey (with hickory and apple wood chips) with a side of homemade mashed potatos and brussle sprouts with bacon and chestnuts out of the oven, and for dessert I made pecan apple pie and one of our friends made homemade vanilla ice cream with tahitian vanilla – need I say more? I didn’t worry about a super nicely set table or the kitchen looking like a bomb had struck, because really, the day was about spending time with friends and enjoying eachother’s company. Before dinner, Mike made a little toast, giving thanks to the fact that we do have the luxury of sitting down to an amazing meal like that – and he is so right. We really are lucky and I definitely am thankful to be able to have days like this past Sunday! Did any of you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? Have you ever made a turkey?

Without a doubt, this christmas has been one of the best yet! Mike celebrated with our family for the first time, which was the biggest gift of them all – to be able to have both my family and Mister boyfriend by my side on Christmas Eve could not have been more magical!!

Other than that I was surprised with my first light blue box(lots of tears of joy!!) and a wonderful weekend-get-away from Mike, my parents got me both my biggest wishes from this year’s list, and my siblings spoiled me with goodies for the home. Such a lucky girl!!!

Last winter my running shoes never saw anything else other than the treadmill at the gym. I simply thought there was no way I could run outdoors with temperatures below 10°C. But after talking to a few people who know their stuff (including one of my colleagues who happens to be a trained fitness coach) I was told otherwise. All it takes is the right gear and a bit of motivation :) The appropriate clothes can easily be found online (and don’t have to cost a fortune) and the motivation comes naturally when you have a running buddy (mine happens to be my lovely neighbor Katja, aka Miss t-h-i-n-g-s).

{back home after running with my new thermo gear}

So, tonight I had my first evening outdoor run at 6°C. Now I know that is definitely not what winter is like, but it is a start, right? The thermo running pants, thermo top and wind stopper jacket kept me really warm once I started moving (the outfit I wore today can probably handle anything down to 1°C) but the most important was my headband for sure! My ears would have fallen off without something to keep them warm. The hot shower afterwards was pure bliss and I feel great!! Excited to keep this little outdoor project going as long as possible!!

{this is what it looks like when my sister & I work out … but at least we have fun, right?}

This past weekend my parents came to visit for a few days. It had been way too long since I last saw them and our adorable puppy, who they brought with them. On Saturday we spent the day in the 1st district and I took the opportunity to snap a few outfit pictures with my favorite accessory of all time – the cutest pupster in the whole world!!